Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has given to local transport authorities on protecting the safety of blind and partially sighted bus users when (a) placing floating bus stops, (b) closing bus stops and (c) placing temporary bus stops.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is committed to comprehensive civil rights for disabled people. An integrated transport policy, which encompasses accessible public transport, public transport infrastructure and a barrier-free pedestrian environment is fundamentally important to delivering that commitment.

Provisions in the Equality Act 2010 require service providers, such as local authorities, to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people do not find it unreasonably difficult to enjoy a service on the same basis as non-disabled people.

The DfT has not provided any guidance on protecting the safety of blind and partially sighted bus users when placing floating bus stops or when specifically closing bus stops or placing temporary bus stops.

However, our document ‘Safety at Street Works and Road Works’ (a statutory code of practice for utility companies and local highways authorities in England) provides general principles to observe when considering the needs of vulnerable users. It is the responsibility of local authorities to apply these general principles to any works they carry out in the highway, including work on bus stops.

The code of practice is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-at-street-works-and-road-works